Frontliners battle fear, sadness, frustration in fight against Covid-19

 

Last month’s rising trend of daily new Covid-19 cases signalled the start of Malaysia’s third wave of infections, with Sabah showing signs of turning into a Covid-19 hotbed.

Yesterday, Malaysia recorded a whopping 871 new cases – the highest-ever number reported in a single day since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak – and total cases leapt to 20,498, with active cases at 7,049.

Healthcare personnel and volunteers, who enjoyed a respite just before the resurgence of cases last month, are now forced to don their personal protective equipment (PPE) once again and fight their own fear, sadness, and frustration as they work tirelessly on the “battlefield”, screening and treating Covid-19 cases.

Among them is Dr Saraswathy Subramaniam, 29, a medical officer at the Emergency and Trauma Department at Hospital Tawau, Sabah. In her own words, she almost lost her life to Covid-19 which she contracted while on duty in Hospital Semporna, where she was deployed early September following a spike in case numbers in the Semporna district.

The young doctor, who is from Kuala Selangor, tested positive for Covid-19 on Sept 29.

She said she became very weak and lost her sense of smell. She also developed inflammation in her heart and almost blacked out. She was hospitalised in Hospital Tawau until Oct 15 and is set to resume her duties at Hospital Semporna this week.

Working day and night

“To be honest, I was not sad when I tested positive for Covid-19 because I was prepared to face any risk the minute I was told to report for duty at Hospital Semporna.

“In fact, I am grateful I pulled through… there are so many other patients whose conditions were worse than mine,” Saraswathy told Bernama, adding that despite the ordeal she went through, she cannot wait to return to the “battlefield” to help her colleagues treat the rising number of active cases.

She said the current critical situation in Sabah has taught her how valuable life is.

“It’s a challenge for us to treat Covid-19 patients because, by the time they are admitted to the hospital, they are already in the fourth or fifth stage of the disease and have various complications,” she said.

She said Hospital Semporna frontline staff are forced to forego sleep as they have to work day and night because the hospital does not have the capacity to handle the overwhelming patient load.

It is even more frustrating for the frontliners when patients “disappear” whilst awaiting their Covid-19 test results, which puts healthcare workers at a higher risk of getting infected by the virus.

As frontliners, Saraswathy and her colleagues do their best to keep themselves safe by complying with the standard operating procedures (SOPs), reducing contact with their patients as much as possible, providing prompt treatment to patients who show symptoms, and practising a high level of self-hygiene.

Deja Vu

In a tweet on Oct 12, Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the battle of the frontliners in Sabah is reaching a “critical moment” and that community surveillance and contact tracing strategies are being taken to treat infected persons and break the chain of infection.

Many healthcare workers from green zones nationwide have already been deployed to the red zones in Sabah and in the peninsula.

Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) emergency medicine specialist Dr Mohd Afiq Mohd Nor said he is experiencing a sense of deja vu looking at all the preparations being made by UMMC.

“We’re repeating what we did in March (this year)… We have to reassign staff, set up tents to carry out screening, and again teach everyone how to put on the PPE and remind them to follow the SOPs,” he said.

Although the hospital’s frontliners are now in a better position to deal with the crisis due to the experience they gained earlier, they still cannot help worrying about their exposure to infection.

Afiq said having seen colleagues who tested positive for Covid-19 gasping for breath and going through quarantine, his own anxiety level has multiplied, although he heeds every safety precaution.

“We’re always reminding each other not to be careless when handling a patient or equipment as we can’t tell when we will be exposed to the virus,” he said.

Hospital Kuala Lumpur Department of Emergency and Trauma medical officer Dr Ahmad Samhan Awang said the level of physical and mental stress faced by medical staff cannot be underestimated.

He said physical stress is caused by the increased workload when colleagues have to go on quarantine due to exposure to Covid-19 cases while mental stress is caused by patients who hide their history of close contacts.

“We have no other choice except to bear with it and to keep encouraging our colleagues to remain strong because Malaysians are banking on us frontliners to flatten the infection curve,” said the father-of-two, adding that he is prepared to face any risk in the event he is deployed to Sabah which is in need of experienced medical personnel and resources.

Red zone

Meanwhile, 17 volunteers from the Tinagayan Youth Club have stationed themselves at the Bubul Ria PPR housing project, a Covid-19 red zone in Semporna, to help with cleaning, disinfection and food delivery activities since Oct 11.

Club chairperson Fazlan Thomas, 32, said they decided to volunteer following requests for help from non-governmental organisations and the Health Ministry as Hospital Semporna was facing a shortage of staff after several employees tested positive for Covid-19 and had to be quarantined.

“I announced on social media that we were looking for volunteers (to serve in Semporna) and didn’t expect so many people, including from Sarawak and the peninsula, to show an interest,” he said, adding that all the volunteers came under the supervision of the Health Ministry and, as such, have to comply with SOPs.

Aged between 17 and 40, the duties of these volunteers include disinfecting surrounding areas, delivering food to patients, and managing the Bubul Ria PPR operations centre’s logistics and documentation.

“Inspired by our hardworking frontliners, we resolved to strengthen our mind and spirit to participate in this mission. Some of us, in fact, are temporarily staying in the flats in Bubul Ria PPR so that we don’t have to return to our families while we are volunteering as the risk of infection is there,” said Fazlan.

While the nation’s frontliners return to the battlefield, here is what Noor Hisham tells them:

"To all our frontline workers, please remember that we are the protectors of the rakyat’s health and our nation’s safety; we are the last line of defence of the country. We must keep our spirits up and continue to be strong. We have a small window of opportunity to do it right and flatten the curve again."

- Bernama